


Because Of Course He Did

by anotherfngrl



Series: The Stereotypical Office AU [2]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Bisexual Alexander Hamilton, F/M, Fluff, George Washington is a Dad, Human Disaster Alexander Hamilton, M/M, Puppy Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27378814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherfngrl/pseuds/anotherfngrl
Summary: Alex goes out for coffee and comes back with a puppy. Because of course he did. Then the gang decides to keep it, because I thought we all needed some fluff tonight.
Relationships: Aaron Burr & Thomas Jefferson & James Madison, Aaron Burr/Theodosia Prevost Burr, Alexander Hamilton & George Washington, Alexander Hamilton & John Laurens & Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette & Hercules Mulligan, Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, George Washington/Martha Washington, Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette/Hercules Mulligan, Thomas Jefferson/James Madison
Series: The Stereotypical Office AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1999999
Comments: 16
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is FEEL GOOD FIC. Self indulgent, pointless fluff. I hope it makes you smile!

Alex comes in from his coffee run (what he's working on had required espresso, not just coffee, and Lafayette took the espresso machine apart to clean it last week and several critical parts are now missing) bedraggled from the misting rain and oddly hunched over his midsection. Everyone else is in the main office area brainstorming around the whiteboard, and Washington looks up, concerned.

Before Washington can ask if Alex is alright, the reason for his strange posture pokes its head out if the neck of his coat and barks happily.

Jefferson jumps to his feet, as does John. Hercules grabs Gil by the collar before he can fling himself at the dog, who Alex is clutching protectively. James and Washington exchange a look of horrified realization- nothing else is getting done today.

Alex smiles hopefully at their boss. "Can I keep her?" he asks.

"Aroooh!" the puppy adds enthusiastically.

"You know he's not actually your Dad, right?" John checks.

"Obviously," Alex tells him, nuzzling the puppy. He absently continues, as the puppy licks his face, "If I'd ever brought a puppy home when my Dad was around, I never would've let him see it. And anyway, you learn quick as a poor kid that, however much you wish there were someone in the world who loved you unconditionally and could actually spend time with you, it's not fair to try to keep a pet when you can't even feed yourself."

Alex is so focused on the puppy he seems to have forgotten he's standing in the middle of the office, not alone with his boyfriend. Not that any of them were wholly unaware of Alex's shitty childhood, but that was a level of honesty no one had quite been prepared for.

Hercules, who had grown up solidly middle class and therefore had a better understanding of Alex's experience than the rest of their silver spoon, boarding school coworkers, is the first to speak. "Well, we're definitely keeping her now," he muses.

Before it can fully dawn on Alex what he's just said, Burr returns from where he'd been in the supply closet getting fresh Expo markers. He immediately thrusts them at Thomas, rushing forward to scratch the puppy's ears.

"Is that a puppy? Who's a cutie little baby one? Is it you? Is it you?" he asks. The puppy wags enthusiastically with her whole torso.

The entire office stares. Slowly, Aaron realizes what's happening and steps back, straightening his jacket. "I mean, um, whose dog is that? Did you find it?"

Alex, sensing an ally, nods, wide eyed. "All alone in a cardboard box, with just newspaper! No blanket or food or anything! I couldn't leave her out there in the rain. She needs a home!"

Burr reaches for the dog. "I watch Theodosia's dog when she travels. I can take care of her," he offers.

The office erupts. Jefferson shouts something like, "I saw her first!" which Alex naturally refutes. John backs his boyfriend up, and Lafayette tries to take advantage of the chaos to grab the dog and abscond.

Alex loses his grip, and the puppy jumps onto the coffee table, bouncing around it to smell all of the exciting new people, barking her enthusiasm for all of the chaos.

"Enough!" Washington shouts, picking up the little dog and holding her in the crook of his arm. "If we are keeping this dog, we are doing it as an office. Which means taking turns taking it home. If you can all agree on a name and a schedule, we can keep it. If not, Martha has a sister who volunteers with a rescue."

Everyone nods in agreement. Washington sighs. "Nothing else is getting done until this is taken care of. James, Thomas, Aaron, go to the store. Get what we need for her here at the office. At least two dog toys, and no more than five. Hercules, Gilbert, get online, make sure this isn't a lost pet. John, get Alex dried off and warmed up- he looks like a lost pup himself. The dog and I will be in my office. We reconvene in one hour. March!"

Everyone scatters to their assigned duties. Luckily, John has his gym bag, so he takes Alex down to the building's showers to get warmed up and change. Gil is already typing away on his phone as he darts to his desk, working the phone with one hand and the computer with the other, while Hercules calls a connection at the animal shelter as he walks. The others go for their coats, arguing over the best pet supply store as they go.

This leaves Washington alone in a blessedly quiet main area with the puppy. Who, deprived of the excitement of a moment before, abruptly decides she's very sleepy and curls up in Washington's arms for a nap.

Washington smiles fondly. “Yeah, we’re definitely keeping you,” he admits quietly.


	2. Getting Alex Warmed Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John gets Alex warmed up and dried off. The Democratic Republicans get back from the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic continues to be shameless, feel good fluff.

Alex spends the entire walk to go find John’s gym bag and toward the showers explaining to John all of the reasons their apartment can hold a puppy. John tries to let him burn himself out talking, but, as sometimes happens when Alex is especially passionate about something, he winds himself up instead.

When Alex’s monologue continues- he’s now listing the benefits of daily exercise, something John enjoys and Alex hates, in an attempt to justify the effort of walking her- even as John undresses him in the private shower stall in the gym downstairs, John decides enough is enough.

Kissing Alex has about an 80% chance of shutting him up. He has been known to talk through a makeout session before. Today, he fumbles his thought for an instant but continues. John holds his boyfriend’s face between his hands, kisses him firmly again, and says, “Alex! I’ve agreed. Washington’s said it can be the office dog, and we’ll take whatever shifts we work out with her. I’m on your side.”

Alex stares at him hopefully, wet hair plastered across his face. “Really?” he asks.

“Really,” John assures him. “If you get in that shower before you get pneumonia out here. If I’m nursing you back to health, I won’t have time to take care of a puppy too.”

Alex jumps in the shower quickly.John had intended to supervise, but his boyfriend makes grabby hands and he makes quick work of shucking his clothes. It won’t be the first time they’ve found a quiet corner for a quickie on a break from work.

They barely make it back to the office in time for Washington’s one hour deadline.

When they do, the place has been transformed. Jefferson was on the shopping team, so the over the top level of preparation isn’t wholly unexpected. But usually the combination of Madison and Burr keeps him from crazy excess.

This time, Burr was wholly on Thomas’ side, and James had given in and let it happen.

As a result, the puppy now has a bed for each office, as well as one for the common room. She has the full, allotted five chew and rope toys, but she also has several stuffed animals. John looks askance at James- that wasn’t what Washington allowed.

“They’re not toys, they’re comfort items,” Burr explains. He’s scrutinizing each one for tags or loose seams, determined to make sure the toys are safe for the pup. Jefferson is in the kitchenette, scrubbing all of the nylon toys clean.

Madison is opening up a timed feeder and circulating water bowl, looking over the instructions. “Alex,” he calls, “Come help me with this thing.”

Alex goes, picking up instructions James had set aside because they’re in French. He’s not as fluent as Lafayette, but the Frenchman has ranked him second in the office. And given that Jefferson’s year abroad in France in college had extended to two and he goes back regularly, that’s saying something.

Satisfied that Alex and James have the feeding and watering situation under control, John looks at Burr. Aaron is tugging on the eyes of the stuffed toys, apparently worried one might come loose. John shakes his head. He wants to be helpful, but he’s not braving that.

Which leaves helping Thomas out. He walks toward the kitchenette and is promptly hit in the face with a hand towel. “Dry for me, they’re taking too long,” the other man orders.

“Please, John. Would you mind helping, John? Sorry I hit you in the face with a towel, John,” John grumbles, but he does begin drying.

“Yes, please help, sorry towel, yada yada yada,” Thomas tells him. “Can you and your boyfriend not be insufferable for a few hours? I think Washington is using this to make us all learn to get along.”

He has a point. “I mean, Washington always has at least two goals. Goal one is obvious.. Puppy. But it would be nice to go a few days without hearing one of you scream,” John agrees.

“Oh, do I do a better job making him scream than you do, John? I had no idea. I’ll be happy to give you some pointers,” Thomas offers.

Done drying, John throws the towel at him. Thomas slings it over his shoulder and reclaims the toys, carrying them back to the main conference area and spreading them out in front of the couch.


	3. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get the office ready for their new family member!

Burr seems to have rearranged the furniture- the coffee table is farther from the couch now, and the couch itself has been pushed back against the wall. Given Alex and James both pace a lot when they write, John isn’t sure how that’s going to work.

Burr catches his questioning look. “We don’t want them hopping over her. Fewer walkways, yes, but wider ones with room for a dog and a person. They can still pace in front of the whiteboard or behind the loveseat, or the path to the kitchen.”

“Worth it!” Alex calls from where he and Madison are now disassembling the water thing, John notes with dismay.

“Don’t break that,” he suggests.

“We know what we’re doing. I had a fishtank once,” James assures him. That does not make John feel better.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to connect it to the water supply without checking with the landlord. We definitely need to run to the home improvement store for couplings. We’ll put it in place and fill it by hand for now,” James decides.

Alex goes to get the pitcher Hercules bought during his well intentioned but ultimately doomed attempt to get them all to drink a glass of water per cup of coffee. It had turned from that into “Just do a shot of water, I’m begging you, please. Have you EVER SEEN WATER?” “Yes, it’s one of the main ingredients in coffee.” to Lafayette replacing the water in the shot glasses with Everclear with Washington’s full approval because, as he’d put it, they’d all been stressed past the point of getting anything done anyway.

That incident had broken their coffee table and gotten the shot glasses hidden in Washington’s office, but the pitcher remains. A relic. Alex uses it now to fill the dog’s water bowl, and James turns it on.

It’s a very pleasing fountain effect. “I bet she’ll like it,” John offers.

James smiles at him. “Let’s put it beside the fridge, since if we do hardwire it that’s probably where we’ll connect it,” he tells Alex.

They move the food and water to the right spots and the printer whirs to life. Alex rushes over, pulling out one of many copies of a missing poster with an outraged scowl.

“She’s not missing, she’s abandoned!” he thunders, storming into Hercules and Laf’s office.

“I do not want to do it either,” Lafayette tells him, hands up.

“We need to do our due diligence. She could’ve gotten lost and just found the box to hide in. Or some shitty ex could’ve stolen and dumped her during a breakup. Wouldn’t that be awful? You leave your abusive boyfriend and he steals your dog? If she has a family, she misses them, Alex,” Hercules tells him gently.

“We’re her family now,” Alex insists stubbornly. “Are we not enough for her?”

“We’re enough for anybody,” Herc tells him. “And if she does have a family, I bet there’s some other dog in a shelter who needs us just as much.”

“The right chien will find us, Alexander. Even if not today,” Lafayette assures him.

“We’ll be a good family for a dog,” Alex tells them, digging his heels in.

“We will, ma petite. We will be the best dog family New York has ever seen,” Gil agrees.

“Does this mean we’re doing a group Christmas card?” Aaron asks. He’d tried to convince everyone to do a classy, red turtleneck photo for the company Christmas card last year. Jefferson had worn black but waxed his afro red, insisting he was ‘on theme’ and Alex had worn a red turtleneck alright- a thrifted, ugly Christmas sweater one that lit up. No one else’s red had matched, and the whole thing had been an unmitigated disaster.

“Aaron, if I am matching our dog, I will give you my card and let you order us all matching Christmas sweaters,” Thomas declares fervently.

“So, we’re definitely doing this, right? Together?” Alex asks, insecure but hopeful.

“Absolutely,” Hercules tells him immediately. Burr echoes him.

“We’ll be great dog parents,” James agrees.

“Absolument incroyable,” Lafayette agrees.

“For sure,” John chimes in.

“All of us together? It’s the luckiest dog in the world,” Thomas assures him, wrapping a warm hand around Alex’s shoulder. “Even if someone claims her. We won’t let her go somewhere they won’t take care of her. And our dog will find us. Who wouldn’t want to live in this office?”

“Someone make yourself useful and cut the phone number strips apart on these,” Hercules requests.

John takes the stack of fliers, going to the conference table catch-all cup for scissors.

“You did phone number strips? What is this, 1800?” Jefferson demands.

“You mean before the phone was invented?” Alex snarks back.

“There is a QR code as well. Apparently, not everyone carries a phone on a run or knows how to scan a code. Hercules has been redundant,” Gil explains.

“When nobody calls, I want to be 100% sure we can adopt her guilt free,” Herc tells them.

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Madison agrees.

“Guys?” Burr says quietly. “It’s been more than an hour. Where’s Washington?”

“He hasn’t left his office,” Hercules reports.

“Someone should go check and see if he’s ready for us,” Alex says. Everyone looks at him. “Not me! I don’t want to make him mad right now.”

Lafayette’s face softens in recognition of just how badly Alex- all of them really, but especially Alex- wants this to go perfectly. “I will fetch our fearless leader,” he offers.

He starts to knock on Washington’s door and thinks better of it, probably to avoid stirring the puppy up. He slides in the door quickly, so the dog can’t get out.

John has just finished cutting the flyers when Gil and Washington emerge.

“Apologies, she just woke up and she’s been exploring,” Washington tells them. “I don’t want to leave her alone in my office. Somebody give me some kibble for her and you start working on a schedule for who takes her home every night. I’ll join you when she’s fed and napping.”

Jefferson immediately fetches the navy dog bed he’d marked for Washington’s office, while Aaron pulls a ‘travel dog bowl set’ out of a bag John hadn’t noticed, filling it. Washington allows them past him to place the items in his office.

“What about naming her? Shouldn’t that come first?” Alex points out.

“No, because I want to be involved in that discussion,” Washington tells him, which is a fair point. Everyone clusters around the whiteboard as their boss returns to his office.


	4. A Schedule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scheduling turns with the puppy isn't actually any easier for our modern gang than organizing Congress was for the original one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is absolutely my feel good silly place right now. If you're enjoying it, leave me a comment. Next up- puppy names!

The schedule discussion is not one of their more productive ones. James sets himself up at the whiteboard, marker at the ready, but there’s an immediate disagreement about how the schedule should be split.

First, Thomas and Alex get into it over whether they should count a ‘turn’ as ‘each member of the staff gets a turn’ or ‘each household represented on the staff gets a turn’. Sides are quickly drawn between the two couples who live together and James, Thomas, and Aaron, since James and Thomas keep separate apartments. They throw accusations of unfairness and dog-hogging at each other until Hercules insists they set the problem aside for the moment and focus instead on how long a turn should be.

Then, they argue over how often she should move between people, with hardly less yelling. No one is willing to go a month, or even a week, with her at someone else’s. 

"Well, there are seven of us. We could just each take a day of the week," Hercules suggests.

"Aren't you forgetting me?" Washington reminds him, stepping out of his office.

"Sir! We weren't sure you would want the disruption…" Burr trails off.

"It's not that much trouble, if you know how to manage her. I deal with you all on a daily basis. I want on the rotation. Where are we on a plan?" he asks.

"We're trying to decide if the shifts are arranged by person," Alex begins.

"Or by household," Burr tells him, glaring.

"It is not fair that Hercules and I get the dog half as often because we reside together," Lafayette insists.

"But if the dog goes by person, Laf and Herc or Alex and John get twice as much time as Thomas, James, or I. Or you, sir," Burr explains.

"We all know if we go by household Jefferson and Madison are going to sleep over when one of them has the dog, so they get it twice as much as anyone else!" Alex argues.

"Figure it out," Washington tells them.

"But si-ir!" Alex, the boss's not so secret favorite, had been counting on backup.

"Alexander, a word," Washington says sternly.

Alex's eyes go wide as he follows his mentor back into his office.

"It's not fair!" Alex cries. "Jefferson won't even let me talk!" The pup jumps up onto the couch, sniffing his hand and barking concernedly.

"Son, I have finally got that poor dog calmed down with a full stomach. If you work her up with your whining… Be an adult. Make a fair point, and everyone will listen. Compromise." Washington scolds.

"The people without roommates are just jerk-faced, bullying puppy hogs," Alex whines, petting her ears.

"Son, I'm one of them, so watch your mouth," Washington snaps at him, obviously trying to moderate his tone to avoid stirring her up any further. "If you can't even play nice long enough to get her named, and agree on a schedule for her, then you don't deserve her."

Alex recoils. His boss hadn't been this stern with him when a three week campaign to convince Thomas he was the anti-Christ had culminated in the other man's desk being set slightly on fire.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly.

Washington rubs a hand across his face, taking a deep breath. "You're okay. Just stop making this about you and your rivalry with Thomas and make it about our dog. What's best for her?" Washington asks.

Alex nods, lip wobbling as he realizes how selfish he's been. He's so focused on wanting the dog to love him best, he isn't even thinking about her. She deserves better. He kneels beside the couch, scratching the sides of her face for a moment. She licks his cheek and he smiles, hugging her. “I’m sorry, girl,” he says quietly, standing back up.

Washington sees his upset and pulls Alex into a quick hug. He knows the decision to get a pet- albeit a shared one- is especially charged for his youngest employee.

"Alex," he tells him softly. "You're one of the best writers and orators of your generation. You can absolutely convince an office full of your friends to agree on a shared custody plan for a puppy. I know you can do it."

"Yes, sir," Alex says quietly, pulling back. He looks at the dog, wagging her tail at him from Washington's couch. "She's just so perfect. I love her so much."

"I know you do, son. And she's a lucky girl, because she's got more people to love her than most dogs can dream of. She's going to be one happy girl." Washington assures him.

"We'll figure it out," Alex says with a decisive nod. He stops one last time on his way out of the office to look at her, giving her a soft pet to her flank. She sniffs his hand, butting at it encouragingly. He smiles, and returns to the fray.

"Why not both?" Alex suggests to his co-workers.

"Both?" Hercules asks, lost.

"By person and by household," Jefferson realizes. "That could work!"

"And I think she should do two days in one spot, as much as possible. So it's not so stressful for her, moving between places. She won’t get so settled she’s worried when she goes, but she won’t constantly be on the move," Alex suggests.

James grabs an Expo marker he’d given up on earlier, scribbling numbers across the whiteboard. "We can do a four week cycle. Sixteen days of two days each person, then twelve days of two days each household. Twenty eight days!"

"It works," Hercules says, sounding surprised.

"And it's fair," Burr agrees.

"Does the schedule rotate or is it the same each cycle?" Jefferson asks.

"Set, for consistency," Madison says.

"Do we put the people who live together back to back?" Hercules asks.

"Non, four days with the dog would be unfair," Lafayette points out.

"Then how do we decide who gets her first?" Alex presses.

"Everybody put your phone down," James says, abruptly commanding. Everyone immediately places their phone on the nearest table, startled. "Washington has been on us to keep our inboxes clear. For individuals, we go by unread messages," he proposes.

It's a good solution. No one argues. Lafayette does negotiate, "Any emails I've received about the missing dog sites do not count against me. I have just joined several mailing lists," he explains.

"That's fair," John agrees. Everyone else nods. Madison writes their initials on the board and one by one, they open their work email, showing the unread messages. The tally is as follows:

Burr, who is scrupulous about minutiae, surprises no one by only having two. Madison has a respectable sixteen. John comes in at twelve. Jefferson has a totally shocking ninety two, most of which he insists are from spam Hamilton signed him up for months ago.

Alex insists that can't be proven, and anyway, Washington had said weeks ago to unsubscribe from everything they don't read. Jefferson's count stands.

Lafayette originally has forty, but one is a confirmation for Nextdoor, which he signed up for looking for lost dog notices. So his final count is 39. Alex somewhat shamefacedly shows his screen with fifty one new messages- though he insists none of them are junk- he really does have fifty one things he needs to follow up on. None of them doubt it.

They're all very surprised Hercules only has three. He grins, pleased with himself. The others promptly nominate him to get Washington's number, which he does with trepidation.

"Sir?" he asks, quietly opening Washington's door rather than knock and risk upsetting the dog.

"What can I do for you, Hercules?" Washington asks.

"We were wondering how many unread emails you have?" he asks. Washington raises an eyebrow. "We figured since you've been on us to keep our inboxes clean, it was a good way to set what order we rotate the pup," he explains.

"That is a good plan," Washington says. "And I'm sorry to report I currently have thirty seven unread messages- and that's what I've been working on!"

"Yes, sir," Hercules tells him.

Washington gets up from his desk and comes to stand in the doorway of his office. "So, what's the order?" he asks.

The breakdown they've landed on is as follows:

Burr 2

Hercules 3

John 12

James 16

Washington 37

Lafayette 39

Alex 51

Thomas 92

Washington raises an eyebrow at Thomas's emails. "I can't help being popular!" the curly haired man tells him.

"So you decided to go by person?" Washigton asks.

"A hybrid," Alex says excitedly, belatedly realizing he's interrupted Madison, who had been about to answer. "It was James' idea," he finishes, nodding for the other man to continue.

"After Alex suggested a hybrid plan. Sixteen days by person," Madison says, shooting him a forgiving smile.

"Alex suggested two days each place, so she isn't moving all the time," Thomas chimes in.

"Then twelve days by household. Four weeks, nice and easy," Madison finishes.

"Except I have just realized- if our list is unchanged, the same people have her always on a weekend," Lafayette realizes.

"Everybody moves down one spot on the list each time, and the last person moves to the front?" John suggests.

"That works," Hercules agrees. Everyone else nods.

"How do we do the ‘by household’ list?" Alex wonders.

"Just use this one, me through Washington," Burr suggests. "You guys are even in the same order as your more diligent partners. It works!"

Alex sticks his tongue out at Burr for the 'more diligent' comment, but no one disagrees with the idea.

"I'll type this up for the rest of the year," James offers. "Easier to do it all at once, then we know when we have her."

"What if we are traveling during our time?" Lafayette asks. He takes trips home occasionally, and they all take the odd business trip.

"We cover for each other as fairly as possible," Washington decides. "No one takes the dog with them on business trips. And she comes to the office every regular work day."

“Now that we know where she’s going,” John says with trepidation, “What are we naming her?”


	5. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schedule completed, they work on naming their new good girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the seratonin fic, and it was time for some good feelings.

Hercules is sick of the arguing and suggests blind suggestions. He tears up a piece of paper and everyone writes a dog name on a scrap. Aaron takes over the whiteboard from James and marks them all down.

They end up with eight suggestions:

Maggie

The Incredible Virginia “Pepper” Pots (Alex insists every word of that is part of the name)

Daisy

Emma von Wolfhausen

Lassie (Alex and Thomas both ‘boo’ that one, until Washington admits he’s the one who put it in)

Sadie (which Burr assures them tops several dog name lists)

Fluffybutt de Sparkleface, Duchess of Valley Forge (no one cops to that. Herc insists the handwriting is Gil’s)

Hermione

“Now what?” Hercules asks, looking over the very diverse list of names.

“Everybody vote for your two favorites,” Aaron suggests. “That way we aren’t just all voting for our own. Then we take the top half and go from there?”

Everyone agrees. More scraps of paper are handed out, and everyone votes on two choices. Alex tallies the votes, and they’re fairly spread, but there are a few favorites:

Sadie

Emma von Wolfhausen

Fuffybutt de Sparkleface, Duchess of Valley Forge (which is actually in the lead, though Alex is sure he isn’t the only one who voted for it ironically)

The Incredible Virginia “Pepper” Pots (though a vote that’s definitely Burr’s says, ‘Only if we just put Pepper on her tag’)

Washington looks it over. “I’m sensing that we like long names,” he muses.

“They’re fun,” Alex insists, at the same time as Gil says, “She deserves a name fitting of her beauty.”

“Can we combine what we’ve got?” John wonders.

“Sadie de Sparkleface von Wolfhausen Pots?” Hercules offers dubiously.

“Duchess Sadie von Pots?” Aaron tries.

“Sadie “Pepper” von Wolfhausen, Duchess of Valley Forge,” James offers.

“Almost,” Lafayette says, tapping his pen against his chin. “Sadie von Wolfhausen Potts, Duchess of Valley Forge,” he tries.

“Lady Sadie for short,” Alex agrees. “And yes, Aaron, we can put just that on her tag.”

“I just think her tag should be readable, and not bigger than her,” Aaron defends himself.

“It is a mouthful,” Thomas comments.

“But I think it’s her,” John says.

“Should we see what she thinks?” Washington suggests. Everyone turns to his office, and Washington opens the door.

“Lady Sadie!” Alex calls, kneeling and holding his arms out to her.

The dog comes flying towards him, licking his face eagerly.

“I think she likes it!” James announces.

“I think she likes Alex,” Hercules teases.

“I think she’s going to have to learn to share,” John agrees.

Washington kneels to pet her as well. “What do you think, Duchess?” he asks. “Sadie von Wolfhausen Potts, Duchess of Valley Forge?”

She licks his chin in agreement.

“Then it’s settled! She’ll need tags,” Washington says.

Lafayette bounces forward. “We’ll go. And we’re taking her. She should get a say in her wardrobe,” he decides, pulling Hercules forward.

“I don’t know if she has a collar and leash yet,” Hercules hesitates.

Thomas looks scandalized. “Of course she does! A lady needs fashionable neckwear.”

“And we needed to be able to take her out! Speaking of, you should probably try to get her to do her business if you’re taking her out of the office,” Aaron suggests.

“Did you get poop bags?” Hercules challenges.

Thomas and Aaron look sheepish. “We did, actually,” James says, surprising them. He fishes out her leash and collar, as well as a little plastic holder for the small bags. “It hooks on to the leash.”

“You think of everything,” Thomas says, kissing him. James blushes.

“Can we go?” Alex asks hopefully.

“Alex, the whole office can’t go to the pet store,” Washington tells him. The young writer’s face falls. “I’ll tell you what, you get some work done now and the next time she needs a walk, you, John and I will take her to the park down the street and see how she likes it.”

John grins. Teaming up with Alex tends to work well for him, because Washington frankly spoils their youngest team member. Alex bounces to his feet. “Deal!” he says.

“Then let’s get you dressed, pretty girl, so you can go with your daddies and get a nice new tag,” James says, petting her softly before testing the collar and adjusting it to her size. Everyone smiles at seeing the usually reserved man be so affectionate.

He gets her collared, wisely handing the leash to Hercules to hook on. He takes it with a smile, and she immediately begins pulling him toward the door when it’s attached, apparently understanding that leashes are for adventures.

Lafayette frowns critically as he follows his boyfriend. “We should get her a harness. She’s so little, I don’t want her to hurt herself struggling or slip her leash,” he suggests as they leave.

“How many more accessories do you think they’re going to come back with?” Burr asks with a smile.

“With Laf along? Tons. Literal tons. We might need a bigger office,” John laughs.

“I don’t think there are tons more things left in the store to buy,” Washington chuckles, surveying the tornado his conference room/lobby has become. “You all get back to work. Does anyone have a moment to help me tidy up in here?” 

Burr, naturally, jumps at the chance, while Alex returns to his office with a new determination. John shakes his head, realizing belatedly that his boyfriend had never actually drunk his coffee, and takes it to microwave. Alex runs on caffeine- he’s not picky about the quality, a lot of the time.


	6. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Sadie has tags, a collar, and a family now. They all settle in to working with her in the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been my feel good fic, and with the way things went a couple of days ago, it felt like time to get back to it. Hopefully it brings a little cheer to you guys, too.

Lafayette and Hercules return with an entire doggy wardrobe of little dresses and jackets, a different rhinestone collar (the last one was pink, this one is zebra) with a tag on it, an ergonomic safety harness, and three more toys. Given the number of things they’d left  _ behind, _ Hercules thinks they were quite restrained.

Washington sighs. "Whose contact information did you use?" he asks, gesturing to the tag. They hadn't thought to discuss it.

"Yours," Lafayette tells him immediately. "We thought who is the most responsible and reachable one here? And it was either you or Aaron and Alex would have screamed if we put Aaron on the tag. You are on Alex's tag already, it only seemed fair."

"He's my emergency contact, not my owner," Alex grumbles. "I'm not a stray."

"No, you've been adopted and we're still in the process of socializing you," Thomas tells him teasingly.

"He is housetrained, at least," Madison adds playfully.

John moves closer to Alex, incase he launches himself at the other men. But before Alex can lose his temper, Lady Sadie barks inquisitively.

"It's okay, girl. Everybody's fine," Alex tells her, kneeling to pet her head and rub her ears.

Hercules gapes. Alex just… calming down after the others have had a go at winding him up instead of exploding is completely unheard of. Apparently, having a dog is going to be good for him.

"Good boy! See, I told you-" Jefferson reaches out to pet  _ Alex. _

“Thomas,” Washington says seriously. 

“If I’m not fully socialized, it means if you put your hands close, I can bite,” Alex warns him.

Aaron shakes his head. “Don’t teach Lady Sadie bad habits, Alex,” he scolds.

Alex laughs, stroking the dog’s ears. She paws at his chest, where he’s kneeling, and he adjusts to sit cross legged so she doesn’t knock him over. That’s apparently what she wants, as she immediately climbs into his lap, turning to get comfortable and laying down.

“Why did we buy her beds again?” Hercules asks, amused.

“Laps are self heating, beds aren’t,” John points out.

“And beds don’t rub your ears,” Thomas adds, as Alex pets the puppy, who is looking blissed out and sleepy.

“Would somebody grab me one of the end tables? And my laptop? I can just work here,” Alex decides.

“Abandoned for a dog,” John teases, but he goes to get Alex’s laptop from their office. Hercules puts the lamp on the nearest end table in the floor, bringing the small table over to Alex and setting it beside him.

Burr is tugging the decorative round ottoman they keep against the wall over. “What are you doing?” Hercules asks him.

“Alex is going to get a backache, sitting like that,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He pushes the ottoman behind the smaller man.

“Thanks, Aaron!” Alex says brightly, leaning against it. John returns with his laptop next, and he kisses his boyfriend gratefully.

“You can really work like this?” John asks doubtfully.

“I have gotten far more done in far more distracting circumstances,” Alex assures him.

“Well, holler if you need us,” Hercules says, patting Alex’s head absently and returning to his own office with Laf.

The others do the same, dispersing to their corners of the work area, and quiet falls over the office once more. Other than the dog beds and toys scattered throughout their offices, it basically feels like a normal day. It’s not even the first time Alex has had an idea and settled in  _ immediately _ to get to work on it- he does that regularly. He’s been known to come in and talk to Hercules and Laf and wind up sitting in the floor of their office, leaning against one of their desks with his laptop propped up on his knees, usually when John is off in a meeting without him and he’s lonely.

Herc doesn’t think any of them are going to be lonely at work anymore, with Lady Sadie making the rounds. He’s already in love with the sweet little dog, and he knows his coworkers are, too.


End file.
